


if you need a friend (you will be found)

by ftmpeter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Insomnia, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, i hope its up to par though, im going to be honest i was not coherent while writing most of this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24126586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ftmpeter/pseuds/ftmpeter
Summary: It’s not that hemeansto be making a cup of coffee just as the first few rays of early morning sunlight begin to filter in through the blinds. He just.. is.-In which Peter is unable to sleep, and Tony understands.
Relationships: Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 77





	if you need a friend (you will be found)

**Author's Note:**

> it’s almost seven in the morning, i haven’t slept, and i wrote this in two hours. i apologize for any mistakes. insomnia sucks, yo. but hopefully you enjoy this tiny dose of wholesome irondad

Tony has a list of rules.

While the list itself is short and none of them have ever actually been written down or discussed with anyone, they’re there, and he does his best to follow them.

1.) No drinking.

2.) No letting Morgan watch R rated films anymore as the night terrors following them take several years off his life and Pepper had threatened bodily harm last time.

3.)  _No_ _drinking_.

4.) No staying up to - or getting up at - the crack of dawn.

Number four had been instilled shortly after everything with Thanos was said and done. His previous bouts of insomnia, as cruel and relentless as they were, only ever sent him spiraling, so he resolved to, at the very least, not be out of bed after midnight or before six. If he felt it trying to sink its claws in anyway, he’d swallow his pride - albeit painfully - and tell someone. That someone was usually Rhodey, who understood him better than he did, or Pepper, who owned a lot of nice incense burners. Both proved helpful.

Number four had so far been a success, all things considered.

Except for today.

It’s not that he  _means_ to be making a cup of coffee just as the first few rays of early morning sunlight begin to filter in through the blinds. He just.. is. And it’s not a bad thing, really. He’s not working. He’s not torturing himself, which would probably surprise the hell out of a younger version of him. In fact, he feels kind of peaceful. Content, even.

Tony is torn away from his musings when he hears a noise from the front porch. He frowns, sets his coffee on the counter, and walks over to the living room. Looking through the window and seeing nothing, he expects maybe some wild animal exploring the property, or a particularly strong gust of wind.

It’s neither.

Peter is outside, sitting next to the wall in what looks to be an uncomfortable position. His knees are drawn up to his chin as he stares at the horizon.

"What are you doing out here, kid?"

The words are simple, but there’s an unnaturally long pause as Peter registers them. He blinks once, twice, three times.

"Couldn’t sleep," is what Tony assumes he says, but it comes out as little more than a mumble. "Came ‘ere. ‘m tired."

Anyone could have deduced that. Everything about Peter’s demeanor, from his bloodshot eyes to his shaking hands, screams exhaustion. His hair is sticking up in different directions, like he’s pulled at it one too many times, and his shoulders are slumped in apparent defeat. And when he looks over at Tony, there’s a certain kind of emptiness in his gaze, an emptiness that makes something unpleasant churn in his gut.

"Did you sleep at all?"  he asks, gently sitting down on the floor beside him.

"N..no," Peter breaks off with a yawn, one that makes his whole body shudder. He rubs his nose absentmindedly. "I ‘ried. But ‘m.. ‘m not able to."

_I don’t doubt it_ ,  Tony thinks. He knows what it’s like for sleep to be so tantalizingly close yet so elusive at the same time. He knows what it’s like to toss and turn, to stare at the ceiling until your eyes burn in the desperate attempt to rest them. He knows what it’s like because he lived through it, and he’s just now on the other side, just now getting the hours upon hours of time he lost back. He knows, and Tony’s heart aches for Peter because of that. It aches because he can’t just wave a wand and wish all of his racing thoughts and fears and nightmares away. Their demons are different, and unable to be fought by anyone but themselves.

"C’mere," Tony says, but doesn’t wait for a response. He pulls Peter close, wrapping an arm around him. Peter doesn’t protest - instead, a slight, almost imperceptible smile graces his lips as he leans into the warmth. It doesn’t last long, the strength to hold it not there, but it was a smile, and that’s all that matters.

They stay like that for a bit, and Peter falls into a light doze that alternates between dreamland and a half-conscious state.

Tony hears the door creek open, and he barely manages to not jump. Morgan, sporting an impressive case of bedhead and her favorite pair of Spider-Man themed pajamas, is peering through the crack, confusion evident on her features. He holds a finger up, signaling for her to stay quiet, and her eyes drop down even lower to Peter. She makes a small o-shape with her mouth when she sees his small frame curled into Tony’s side, but manages to grasp the situation rather quickly and give him a thumbs-up. She walks off, letting her blanket trail behind her.

It’s ridiculous, really, just how much he loves these kids.


End file.
